Nventdrx



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' J M. DUN CAN.

SALT GRAINING APPARATUS.

No. 349,931. Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

|NVENTUF4 ATTEET- 2 3.44% %2 @1 fl emzq (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3. J. M. DUNCAN. SALT- GRAINING APPARATUS.

, No. 349,931. Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J. M. DUN CAN. SAL-T GRAINING APPARATUS.

No. 349,931. Patented Sept. 28, 1886.

km ABMWAL ZQZAEAQQ INVENTDR Ll ATTEET- N PEIERS. Pmwmha ra her, Washing'on, D. z:v

UNITED STATES PATENT EFIcE.

JOSEPH M. DUNCAN, OF SILVER SPRINGS, NE\V YORK.

SALT-GRAINING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,931, dated September 28, 1886.

Serial No. 205,627. (No model.)

To a, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, JOSEPH M. DUNCAN, of Silver Springs, county of \Vyoming, in the State of New York, a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SaltGraining Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my mechanism with one side of grainer removed, said View being taken on line 00 00, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, an end elevation of elevator and carriage and section of grainer; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on line 3 y, Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4, a horizontal section on line 2 2, Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of conveyor, taken on line to 10, Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 represents an enlarged detail view of platform-leg and shifting mechanlsm.

Similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The object of my invention .is to improve V the construction and operation of apparatus and machinery for the removal to the bins of the salt (sugar, 830.) from the crystallizing apparatus, commonly called a grainer, wherein the salt is crystallized in a flat-bottomed vat of wood heated by horizontally-disposed steam-pipes supported above the bottom of the vat in any ordinary way. It is constructed as follows:

A is the grainer, consisting of a water-tight wooden vat of any desired depth, say one foot, supported upon the floor of the building, and provided with steam-pipes 1, suspended therein, with platforms or partial covers made in sections 2 3 4c. These platforms are made upon joists 5, and the ends of these joists project somewhat beyond the flooring upon them, resting upon cross-girts a, supported by legs I).

B B B are the upright posts of the building, and O O O are horizontal stringers mounted upon these posts in any ordinary manner; and D D are other stringers set upon these posts as a trackway, and hereinafter designated as the trackway D, and which ex tends either across or lengthwise of the building in a direction transverse to the grainer or series of grainers. Upon this trackway .I

mount the upper elevating-carriage frame consisting of posts 7 7 set uprightly upon the sills 8 8. These sills are made in sections supported upon the stringers O, with stationv this trackway I mount upon rollers my travcling elevator-carriage F, consisting of bed 11, which I mount upon the rollers 12 in any ordinary way, the rollers standing upon the trackway 10, (sills 8.) Upon this bed I erect upright posts 12, upon which I journal the drum 13, upon which I wind the rope 14, and upon the inner faces of posts 7 I place the rack-bars 37. Upon other uprights I journal the guidewheels 15, and upon the bed 11, between its bars and in line with the wheels 15, I mount the large sheave 16. Between the side bars of the bed 11, I also mount in proper bearings the sprocket wheels 17, both upon the shaft 26. From the bottom of this bed I suspend the elevator-legs 18 19 downward, one, 18, vertical, and the other at an angle or bracing, and between these legs that is, between each pair of themI mount a shaft in proper bearings, upon which I mount another pair of sprocket-wheels, 20. I place a pair of elevator-legs upon each side of the bed 11, and upon the sprockets 17 and 20, I place a double chain-belt, between which chains I carry my buckets 21. These chains also run over the guide-sprockets 22, located upon the legs 18 19, about as shown in Fig. 2. Upon the bed 11, I also mount tightener sprocket-wheels 23 in such manner that I can,

by removing them from the belt, leave it loose, so that I can readily uncouple it. The arrangement of the sprockets 20 and leg-pairs 18 19 gives the buckets a straight draw across the bottom of the grainer. Upon the elevator legs, adjacent to their lower ends, I secure the horizontal rack-bars 24, the upper or rack face of which is somewhat beveled at each .end. The legs I) are mounted upon the joists 25, which also support the girts a upon the axle-pin secured in the end of the joists, and upon which pin I removably mount the loose pinion 27. In the body ofthis pinion I out two or more curved slots, which receive the stop-pins 28, secured in the leg b.

29 is a grooved idler-pulley mounted upon a shaft and standing about midway between sprockets 17, and by the screw-gear 33 the drum 13 is revolved, winding up the rope 14.,

'34 is another (double) screw-gear mounted upon the frame 35, which is suspended upon the door-hangers 36, standing upon the trackway E, which is suspended from above. From this frame 35 ropes or chains hang down and -I can fasten their lower ends to the-projecting ends of the joists 5; and 36 is a hand-wheel,

- by which I operate the gears 34 to wind up or unwind these chains to raise or lower a section of the platform, as 3, as well as the other sections when desired.

38, Fig. 4, are horizontal shafts upon the upper carriage, mounted so as to bring the pinions 39 into gear with the rack-bars,37. upon the posts 7. Upon these shafts I mount screwgears 40, to operate the sheave 41,around which I place the endless rope 42, and by operating this rope I revolve the pinions 39 and raise or lower the trackway 10, and with it the carriage F and all its parts, including the elevator-legs, chain-buckets, drums, 85c.

43 is a hinged chute into which the buckets empty, and which discharges the salt, 85c. upon that particular platform 2 over which the carriage F then stands.

DD are the timbers set upon the posts B above and in a line transverse to the trackway E, and are heretofore designated by me as trackway D.

44 and 45 arethe side and end bars of the upper carriage-frame, which is supported by the wheels 46, standing upon the trackway D, said wheelsbeing mounted upon gudgeons projecting beyond the ends of the bars 45 and the pinion-shafts 38 are mounted in box-es set upon the bars in the brackets 47, which also operate as guides for the posts 7 as they are raised and lowered, as hereinafter described. The idler 29 is mounted upon this upper carriageframe, as is shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The trackway D is also made in sections, and 48 is a rope and pulleys for raising a section, when desired, which is sometimes necessary, as it is on about the same level as and stands. across trackway E.

I operate my device as follows: Taking as a starting-point the time when a grainer-vat is 9 empty and when I desire to shift the elevator to another grainer, I first connect the chains to the joists 5 of platform 2, as shown in Fig. 5 on platform 3, and by operating the handwheel 36, I elevate that platform to about the height shown in Fig. 1 by the dotted lines 5 8 above platform 3. I then, by the rope 48, raise a section of trackway D up out of the way, and then'run the so-elevated platformsection off to one side, it being carried by the hangers upon trackway E until the top of the grainer is uncovered at that point, and lower the section of track-way D back into place again. I then, by operating the rope 42, rotate the sheave 41, screw-gears 40,

shafts 38, and pinions 39, and these pinions 39, operating upon the rack 37, raise the sills 8 and the whole of the carriage-frame, carrying with them the carriage F and the elevator, raising the legs 18 19 and the lower part of the chain-bucket belt outof the grainer until it stands above the top of the grainer. (See dotted lines tt, Figs. 1 and 2.) I then run the whole carriage-frame so elevated over to the next grainer, the wheels 46 carrying it upon the trackway D until the elevator stands above the endvof the grainer. At one end of the grainer I shorten up the steam-pipes so as to leave a space (see Fig. 1) to receive the elevator-legs and belt and buckets, which are spread to about the width of the grainer. (See Fig. 2.) I then throw the screw 33 out of gear, so that. the drum 13 will not revolve. I then run the conveyer (applying this term to the aggregation consisting of the frame 35, hangers 36, gears 34, and chains) back and put the platform 2 into. place again, remove the chains, and switch the conveyer around behind the carriage F. These switches are in the trackway E, and are'of any ordinary construction, and are not shown in the drawings. I then start up by applying power to the drive-wheel 30, operating the wheel 31 as a belt, rotating the sheave 16, which transmits the power to and rotates the sprockets 17,and this sets the elevator-belt into motion. Assoon as thus started I lower the elevator-legs gradually by reversing the operation of the pinions 39, engaging the rack 37 on posts 7. I lower in this way as fast as the buckets remove the salt until the lower ends of the legs 18 19 are close to the bottom of the grainer, at which timethe buckets will run close enough to the bottom to clean it sufficiently of salt. When I have thus lowered down, I throw the screw 33 into gear so as to revolve the drum 13, and this revolution will wind up the rope 14, one end of which is secured to the building, as at49, above the end of the grainer op- IIO posi-te to the starting-point of the elevator. p

This drum slowly winding up this rope draws .the carriage F slowly along the trackway 10,

, traverses the grainer longitudinally it. encoun tors the first pair of legs, b, which if rigid would stop further progress, as they stand in the grainer; but j ust before the elevator reaches these legs the racks 24, one on each side, engage with the pinions 27, and their inclined faces raise the pinions, carrying with them thejoists 25 until the stop-pins 28 travel the length of the slots, when, with the continued movement of the elevator and consequent travel of the pinions 27 upon these racks, the legs being raised free from the bottom and the pinions being stopped in. their loose revolution commence to swing around, as shown by the dotted lines, Figs. 1 and 6, until when the pinions have traveled the entire length of the rack they disengage from the rack, and the legs are left standing again vertical and upon the bottom of the grainer,supporting thejoists 25 and platform-sections. As each succeeding pair of legs Z) is reached by the elevator this same operation is repeate These platforms extend longitudinally to the grainer, but are not as wide as the grainer, leaving the spaces shown in Fig. 2 on each side of the platform, which spaces are wide enough to give free passage to the elevator-legs 18 19, and I thus remove the legs I) to get them out of the way of the buckets. As the salt is taken up in the buckets it is elevatedto the sprockets 17, and as the belt passes over these wheels the buckets in succession dump their load into the chute 43, whence the salt falls upon the platforms. This chute is hinged or pivotally mounted, so that I can divert the flow of salt to any part of the platform I desire. The salt thus deposited upon the platforms is left there to drain until thoroughly drained and comparatively dry, and the saturated brinedrippings fall directly into the grainer and no brine is lost, and this is very important, as the bucket-s elevate considerable brine with the salt, and the salt is wet and quite slushy when it reaches the platform. Then when the elevator has reached the end of the grainer and thus removed the salt, I stop the elevator, reverse the screw-gear 33, and start up again. The drawings only show one rope, 14:, connected to the drum 13; but I usually use two ropes, so disposed that as one. 14, winds up on the drum the other is unwinding, each rope working at or adjacent to each end of the drum. The reverse motion of the gear 33 turns the drum the other way, unwinding the rope 14 while it winds up the other one, and as the other winds onto the drum it draws the elevator and carriage F back to the starting-point, and thus cleans up the grainer, if deemed necessary so to do. If not deemed necessary-that is, if it is sufficiently cleanedI uncouple the elevator-belt, run the chain-belt and buckets out of the grainer, remove the pinions 27, and lay them on the floor, and then as the elevator is run back it passes along free and unobstructed to the starting-point. I am then ready to remove the elevator, 850., over to another grainer-vat. When the salt upon the platforms 3 4, &c., has sufficiently drained, I run up the conveyer, hitch the chains upon the joists 5, and run the platform-section and salt off to the bins upon the trackway E, but first raising a section of the trackway D out of the way. This trackway E extends out into the bin or cooling-room, and is there provided with switches, whereby I can run the platform and salt to any desired bin, and, furthermore,by means of which connection is so made with the series of grainers as to readily admit of the transfer of the conveyer from grainer to grainer, and the salt then deposited in the bins is dry and ready for packing, &c., or substantially so; or the salt maybe discharged from the elevator-buckets, or spout 43, directly into a conveyer, of any ordinary construction, through which conveyer it can be conducted by any ordinary devices directly to the bins, and be deposited therein without any intermediate draining.

The drawings show a form or style or styles of mechanism by which I can accomplish my work; but I do not limit myself hereby to any specific mechanism or form of mechanism, reserving to myself the right to use any equivalent or substitute mechanisms for the applica tion or transmission of power for elevating, carrying, or lowering the several devices shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent, is-

1. Ina saItgrainer, an elevator operating transversely to the grainerand simultaneously traversing it longitudinally, substantially as described.

2. In a salt-grainer, a carriage, F, mounted upon the trackway 10 and carrying the elevator, substantially as shown and described.

3. Asalt-grainer constructed with removable sectional platforms mounted upon legs standing in the grainer, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a salt-grainer, the slotted pinions 27, mounted upon joists 25, in combination with the legs b, provided with stop-pins 28, con structed and operating substantially as set forth.

5. In a salt-grainer, the combination of the slotted pinions 27, mounted upon joists 25, and legs b, provided with pins 28, with the rack 24, mounted upon the elevator-legs, constructed and operating together substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of the drum 13 and rope 14 with the carriage F, mounted upon the trackway 10, constructed and operating together substantially as described.

7. In a salt-grainer, the conveyer consisting of frame 35, gears 34, wheel 36, and chains, and the hangers 36, mounted upon the trackway E, in combination with the platform-sec tions, constructed and operating together substantially as shown and described.

8. In a salt-grainer, the combination ofsills 8, posts 7, provided with rack 37, shafts 88,

l'IO

provided with pinions 39, and with an actuat- 1 of legs 1819, disposedin-pairs rectangularly I5 ing mechanism, with the carriage F, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a salt-grainer, the combination of the posts 7, provided with rack-bars, pinions 39',

and carriage F, 'in combination with the frame 44 45, rollers 46, and traokway D, constructed and operating together substantially asshown and described. I a

10. A salt grainer provided with platforms standing above it upon legs automatically re moved and replaced by' the movement of the elevator,substantia1ly as shown and described.

4 I I V 349,931"

11. In a salt-grainer, an-elevator consisting and carrying the sprockets 2O 22, chain-bucket belt- 21, and sprockets 17, in combination with j and supported by thecarriageF, substantially as shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set 20 my hand this 8th day of June, 1886.

JOSEPH M. DUNCAN. 

